Which will be the first SW to be removed?

[Pokemaniac]

If anything is to happen to Oblivion, it will be enclosure rather than removal. I can imagine the lift and top of the drop be put into some tunnel, with flashing lights, speakers, bells and whistles and all that jazz. A small upgrade (new trains, chain mechanism, holding brake, whatever) along with a refurbishment or renewal of the theme would put the coaster back into the limelight, and it could also reduce noise somewhat. And it would be cheaper than buying a new coaster.

If anything, I see an upgrade before a removal of any of the Secret Weapons. Especially Oblivion, as there's nothing to do with that giant hole anyway. The location fits the ride like a glove, and it would be awkward to cram anything else in there.

 

[DDF14]

^ I'd like to see that, I wish they would also turn the shuttles round so you drop backwards would be very interesting and frightening..

 

[Waffleman]

In the TH13TEEN Evening John referred to Rita as though it were a Secret Weapon, so I just kind of ran from there.

 

[_koppen]

I would suggest Rita could possibly be the first major (its in no way a SW) rollercoaster to leave AT, I will explain. AT have a very restricted height ceiling as we know which limits Melin to a certain extent as to what they can build without having to dig, And the most popular option they will always have is to build with a launch, Accelerator/Multi-Launch/Blitz to name a few. But then too many 'Launch' coasters in one park could become a problem, as the GP will generally put them all into the same category and add to the fact it would become a marketing nightmare for Merlin with so many samey coasters knocking about the place.

So this is where the following could work well for Melin,....

1. Remove Rita from Alton Towers (Its not the greatest example of an accelerator, And Alton can do a lot better)

2. Install Rita at Gardaland, They don't have a launch coaster and Rita would fit perfectly with there target audience. Nevermind the fact that it would make perfect financial sense.

3. This allows for the final solution, *place various ideas for amazing launch coaster with Maverick/Cheetah hunt elements here*

This has to be the absolutely dumbest thing I've read in a long time.

 

[Thekingin64]

^ I think it's pretty decent. Never going to happen but it is a decent idea.

 

[blivvies biggest fan]

^^ Thats rude, and wrong. It would make sense, I doubt it would happen however it would be good for the towers and gardaland, Alton frees up space and could build a better rocket, and gardaland gets a new coaster, why is that dumb?

 

[Darren B]

This has to be the absolutely dumbest thing I've read in a long time.

I would love to trade insults here but i really don't feel the need, However i will defend my post.

1. I contributed to the topic, unlike you spamming to tell me you disagree. Try contributing your own opinion or ideas about the actual topic title or don't post at all, This is a friendly community people like yourself who post to insult others don't belong here.

2. What i was refering to was the ride share program which Six Flags have used succesfully, Once a ride has served its caused at its current park it would be moved on to another park in the chain, re-themed, re-named and billed as a new rollercoaster at minimal cost. So saying it's the dumbest idea you've ever read is a little off the mark.

3. To finalise, Rita is potentially the most obvious of choices to be the first major Coaster to be removed, It finished last in the recent Alton Towers poll to find out the public's favourite Roller coaster, And isn't billed as a SW unlike the other 4 major Roller coasters.

 

[blivvies biggest fan]

Very right. In fact you could have that comment removed so think before you post. They really could use a ride share programme, especially for Rita very well. A retheme at a park is seen as cheap. Also, it's purely cosmetic. But a removal introduced elsewhere and vice versa provides both places with a differing experience. In fact this breathes new life into old decaying coasters like iron wolf (the worlds first B&M) now apocalypse.

 

[_koppen]

Well, tbh, I don't really mind your thoughts on moving Rita to Gardaland, as I can se the logic in that. Would it happen tough? No.

What I do think is dumb in your post is how you're reasoning against more launch coasters at Alton Towers.

Why would it be a marketing nightmare with some more roller coasters that uses launch systems? Why do you think the GP, or even enthusiasts, would even care if more than 1 coaster at Alton Towers is launched?

And why is everybody so obsessed with getting Rita removed? The coaster was built 6 years ago!

 

[blivvies biggest fan]

Because to be honest it is not very good in many peoples eyes including mine. And you wouldn't find it wierd if a park had 3 launchers of similar height and speed? 60/70 feet is the ceiling which means around 50-60MPH.

 

[_koppen]

Who says they has to be similar?

You could pretty easily build 10 rollercoasters with launches under the height limit, and still make them very different rides.

Launched motobike coaster, launched inverted coaster, launched wing rider coaster, launched airtime coaster, launched family coaster, launched aquatrax, launched shuttle coaster etc..

 

[blivvies biggest fan]

Launched invert, they already have an invert, launched wingriders are not popular and the single one that is built is rough as hell, could you see Alton going for a motorbike? Really? And what on gods good earth is a launched 'airtime' coaster? You mean a launched twister like Rita? Aquatrax really? For Alton, shuttle is too tall for a good one unless you build a huge trench which is not cost effective for what it is, so the twister launcher is the only viable option for the towers.

 

[Hixee]

^^You could, but no park would. Even though on paper they're different, it's unlikely that the GP are going to notice the difference between a launched wing-rider or launched airtime coaster. They are very similar.

 

[blivvies biggest fan]

Exactly, I see people now, 'what's the difference? They're the same except one is on the track the other is bolted to the side...'

 

[gavin]

You could pretty easily build 10 rollercoasters with launches under the height limit, and still make them very different rides.

Launched motobike coaster, launched inverted coaster, launched wing rider coaster, launched airtime coaster, launched family coaster, launched aquatrax, launched shuttle coaster etc..

Yes, that's far more realistic than relocating a coaster to another park in the chain. You might want to reconsider your "dumbest thing I've read in a long time" comment.

My thoughts on the topic:

None of them are going anytime soon, especially Nemesis, Air and Oblivion. Yes, Nemesis is getting on a bit, but it still rides a lot better than a lot of newer, non-B&M coasters. The same thing goes for the other two I've mentioned, and that's before you consider the huge landscaping jobs with Nemesis and Oblivion.

Yes, Rita is newer, but I'd say it's more likely to go before the other "big" coasters there. I'm not saying that's going to be anytime soon, but since it's built on a flat piece of land, it could be relocated easily, or sold to another park altogether. The same thing couldn't be done with the B&Ms.

 

[_koppen]

I'll stick with my comment. Simply saying that it would be hard to market another launch coaster at Alton, or that the GP would not like it because they would be similar IS dumb!

 

[Ben]

It's not unusual for parks in the US to have more than one launched coaster, and at DLRP both "big thrill" coasters are launches.

If you just make it different enough, people will still lap it up. Noone at KD was going "I don't wanna ride Volcano, they've got Flight of Fear..."

 

[blivvies biggest fan]

Let me ask you something. How many parks have you been to that have 2 similar launchers?

 

[Josh73]

Let me ask you something. How many parks have you been to that have 2 similar launchers?

King's Dominion like he said. Flight of Fear and Volcano. I see your point BBF, but I can see theirs too.

 

[Waffleman]

Knott's have 2 launched coasters and they're completely different, you don't even think about it.